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Ronaldinho

(Encyclopedia)Ronaldinho (Ronaldo Assis de Moreira), 1980–, Brazilian soccer player. Also nicknamed “El Gaucho,” the agile attacking forward was a footballer from childhood. Known almost as much for his sunny...

bridge, card game

(Encyclopedia)bridge, card game derived from whist, played with 52 cards by four players in two partnerships. Bridge probably originated in the Middle East in the 19th cent. Auction bridge, one form of the game, ...

Olajuwon, Hakeem

(Encyclopedia)Olajuwon, Hakeem häkēmˈ ōlīˈjəwŏnˌ [key], 1963–, Nigerian-American basketball player, b. Lagos. Introduced to basketball at age 15, when he stood 6 ft 9 in. (206 cm) tall, he soon became th...

Leonard, Bobby (Robert Leonard)

(Encyclopedia) Leonard, Bobby (Robert Leonard), 1932-2021, American basketball player and coach, b. Terre Haute, Ind. Leonard played basketball and tennis in high...

Weah, George

(Encyclopedia)Weah, George (George Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah), 1966–, Liberian soccer player and political leader. An outstanding striker, Weah was soccer's African, European, and World player of the year in 1995...

Spalding, Albert Goodwill

(Encyclopedia)Spalding, Albert Goodwill, 1849–1915, American baseball player and business executive, b. Byron, Ill. He played as an amateur for the Rockford, Ill., Forest Citys (1866–68) and then was paid unoff...

Shero, Fred

(Encyclopedia)Shero, Fred (Frederick Alexander Shero), 1925–1990, Canadian hockey player and coach. He was a defenseman for the New York Rangers (1947–50), then played (1950–58) and coached (1958–70) in the...

Robinson, Jackie

(Encyclopedia)Robinson, Jackie (Jack Roosevelt Robinson), 1919–72, American baseball player, the first African-American player in the modern major leagues, b. Cairo, Ga. He grew up in Pasadena, Calif., where he b...

Noll, Chuck

(Encyclopedia)Noll, Chuck (Charles Henry Noll), 1932–2014, American professional football coach, b. Cleveland, B.S. Univ. of Dayton, 1953. A guard and linebacker in college and with the Cleveland Browns (1953–5...

Branson, Sir Richard

(Encyclopedia)Branson, Sir Richard (Richard Charles Nicholas Branson), 1950–, British business mogul and adventurer. He left school at 16 to start his first business, the magazine Student. In 1970 he began a mail...